Livni, 48, has captured worldwide attention during the recent fighting against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. She became Israel's second most powerful politician in May when she added the vice prime ministership title to her foreign ministry post. Livni is only the second woman in Israel's history to serve as the foreign minister since the legendary Golda Meir, who held that post half a century ago. In 2005, Livni joined former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other senior politicians to form the centrist Kadima Party. Livni is a contender to succeed Sharon as leader of the Kadima party, and it's believed that Livni will follow Meir as prime minister one day. Committed to democracy, and an arch-hawk, the pragmatic lawyer was first elected to Israel's parliament, the Knesset, in 1999 as a member of the Likud Party after a stint as a lawyer for Israel's secret service, the Mossad. Livni backed Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and believes Israel has the right to unilaterally set its own borders. Tatiana Serafin

Published sources include the women's official biographies, Factiva, International Who's Who of 2005, Marquis Who's Who, World Almanac of Famous People, Palgrave Who's Who 2005, the Congressional Yellow Book, the Judicial Yellow Book, Europa World Year Book, Hoover's Online, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, World Economic Forum, the World Book Encyclopedia. Rankings generated by combining various financial figures with other media and biography metrics; global media mentions from Factiva.

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